Absent With Love
by Miss Romance-Lover
Summary: Gabriella had never thought about getting romantically involved with her friend and colleague, Troy. Then she finds out he is leaving the shop they work in together, and suddenly her feelings begin to change...
1. Big News

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	2. Emotional Goodbyes

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	3. Making Contact

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	4. A Question

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	5. Getting To Know You

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	6. Goodbye Again

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	7. Missing You

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	8. From Bad To Better

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	9. God, I Love You Part 1

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	10. God, I Love You Part 2

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	11. Six Months Later

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	12. Thought Provoking

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	13. Waiting Game

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	14. Recovery and a Bit of Romance

**Hey guys! **

**First of all, a few notes in reply to some amazing reviews :)**

**Thanks to **Angkeats**, who recently found this story and took the time to review most of my chapters! Her own writing is brilliant – are you all reading her story **Partners**? **

Skyline96 –** thank you for sharing your own experience in emotional goodbyes, glad you are enjoying the story :)**

ilovesmiles –** thank you so much for saying that!**

**And to all other reviewers, I appreciate every comment you put my way. Hope you like chapter fourteen...**

She'd been lucky. It had been three days since Lucy Bolton had been brought to hospital with a heart attack, and she was finally able to go home.

She had regained consciousness later the same evening, much to Troy's immense relief. Now she'd had all the necessary treatment needed during her stay, and the rest of her recovery was up to her.

Lucy would have to quit smoking – something which Troy readily agreed to help her conquer while promising to do the same himself. She would also have to slow down a bit. That meant more rest; less of a hectic work schedule, and therefore less stress.

Troy and Gabi had gone to pick up his mother early that morning – Lucy's parents having left as soon as they found out their daughter was going to be fine. Gabi still wondered what was going on there. Troy's grandparents seemed so cold, so put out to have been there. Still, she didn't ask questions. If he wanted to tell her at some point, she hoped he would. She hoped he trusted her enough to confide in her when he was ready. But she wasn't going to pry.

And yet the words of his grandmother were ringing in her ears unanswered. _I do hope we're not going to be kept waiting here as long as the last time..._

Something tragic haunted Troy's past; she had seen it in his eyes in that very moment. The thought of the pain etched on his face made her heart ache for him.

She bounced back to earth when Troy's voice rang in her ears. "Gabi? You okay?"

She looked up to see him standing beside her, a concerned look in his eyes. They were in his mother's living room, and he had just helped the older woman upstairs to rest before returning to sit with his girlfriend. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, shrugging off his question with a smile. "Are you?"

He flopped down in the space next to her and smiled back. "Yeah. Listen, thanks for everything these past few days."

Gabi looked up at him and saw just how exhausted he was. His face was pale and there were tired circles under his eyes, highlighting how much he needed a good night's sleep. "Hey, I didn't do anything special," she told him.

"You kept me sane," he insisted, squeezing her hand in appreciation. "You looked after me when I was in a right state, and you stopped me from thinking the worst. I don't know what I'd have done without you. So thank you. I mean it."

She simply smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. "Hey, you really need to get some rest. How about a lie down?" she asked him, fully intending to make sure he slept whether he tried to argue or not.

And as expected, Troy did try to stifle the yawn that followed in reply. "I'm alright. I'll sleep tonight."

"Troy, look at me," she said firmly, and he did so, noting the serious tone to her voice. "You look awful."

His mouth dropped open. "Hey now, would I ever say that to _you_?" he protested.

"Need I remind you of the time I came to work a couple of years ago with a cold, and you told me I 'looked like crap'?" Gabi replied with a smirk.

"Did I say that?" he asked, scratching his head as if struggling to remember. But his eyes gave away his memory of that moment. "Okay yes, I know I said that once. But you shouldn't have come in that day. I was only trying to tell you that you needed to go home and rest."

She raised her eyebrows at him, hoping the penny had dropped. "And what do you think I'm trying to get _you_ to do right now?"

Knowing he couldn't win this battle, he sighed and cracked a small smile at her tactics, before letting out yet another yawn. "Fine, I'll go and lie down. Oh, wait a minute," he stopped when a worry struck him. "What if mum needs something?"

Gabriella pulled him out of his seat and brought him towards the stairs. "I'll look after her today. And don't try arguing with me, Bolton!" Troy obediently removed his raised hands from the air, instead placing them on her shoulders as he followed her upstairs.

"In that case, I'm sure mum will call us if she needs anything. So, you can come and lie down with me?" he asked hopefully. She was so happy to see that familiar teasing tone back in his voice that she gave in to his request.

"Hmm...okay, deal," she replied with a smirk. When they had reached Troy's room, Gabi turned around.

"Hey, that's not fair! Where are you going now?" he exclaimed with a childish groan that made her laugh.

"I'm just going to check on your mum _first_, then I'll be straight back. That okay with you, Mr Impatient?"

He grinned at her comeback, and nodded his head. But she was barely at the door when suddenly he called her back. "Gab?"

She popped her head in the door way, and Troy gave her a weary smile as his head hit the pillow. "Thank you...for being here."

Gabriella smiled to herself as she watched him close his eyes. And as she made her way over to Lucy's room, she knew there was nowhere else she would rather be than here with him.

_**.HSM.**_

Gabi's next day off from work found her once again heading over to see Troy and Lucy – the latter of whom was now well on the road to recovery. She knew that regardless of his mother's improvement, though, Troy was still worrying about her. And according to Lucy, he was fussing over her far too much for her liking!

So the plan today was for her to take him out somewhere, while Lucy had a friend over to keep her company for the afternoon. She had been signed off from work for the time being, in order to recuperate fully.

When Troy let Gabriella in, he greeted her with a quick kiss. She then walked into the lounge to see his mum sitting and watching television, looking quite content. "Hi, Gabi," she smiled warmly at her son's girlfriend. "Right, off you go then Troy!"

"Oh, thanks! Love you too mother," he replied dramatically.

"Oh calm down you, you know I was only joking," Lucy told him.

Just as Gabi had got over her fit of laughter at their exchange, the older woman's friend arrived. Everyone chatted for a bit, and then she took Troy by the hand and whisked him away in her car.

She knew that with him due to leave again in a few weeks' time, he was feeling anxious, given recent events. He had told her that he was terrified of something happening to his mother while he was away. It was as though he felt guilty about that six month absence where he couldn't really see how Lucy was coping.

But Gabriella hoped she had managed to get through to him on all of that. She had reminded him that _she_ hadn't noticed anything wrong with his mum – and neither had anyone else around her. Even Lucy herself claimed she'd been shrugging off her excessive lack of energy over the past few months.

The bottom line was, no one could possibly have seen Lucy Bolton's health scare coming.

Gabi also reassured Troy that she would be there to 'keep an eye out' for her when he was in Canada.

In the meantime, while he _was _here, she was determined to get him to relax for the first time since his mum's heart attack.

"So, Montez, what's the plan?" he asked casually. She smiled, glad that he wasn't going to put up a fight about being dragged away from looking after Lucy.

But she wasn't going to give away their destination, so she briefly lifted one hand away from the steering wheel to tap the side of her nose. "Just stop thinking so much, Bolton," she ordered teasingly.

What she didn't know was that the moment she pulled up outside a familiar pub, Troy knew exactly what was going on. But he decided to keep quiet for a while and let Gabriella take charge. He loved the way she looked after him; the way she instinctively knew when he needed her.

He followed her inside, and she led him over to a very familiar table. And only when they were both sat down did she speak again. She was still clutching his hand as she looked at him, a loving warmth radiating from her eyes.

"I wanted to bring you here tomorrow, but as I'll have to work, I thought I'd use my day off instead. Plus it meant I could try and surprise you. Did it work?"

Troy smiled softly at her. It _had _been unexpected that she should take him here, and maybe if he hadn't been so distracted by recent events, he might have thought of it himself. However, he had not forgotten the occasion, and he had a feeling that she may have suspected he had. "Oh don't worry, it did," he agreed, squeezing her hand.

"I know some people find it silly to remember every little anniversary, but I can't help it. Tomorrow will be exactly a year to the day that you took me out for the first time. When you brought me here, you really opened up about yourself, and I finally felt like I knew the real you. You weren't just the 'skiver' anymore after that!" Gabi grinned after her last statement, and he raised his eyebrows comically at his old nickname.

"You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?" he asked gently, and her face was a display of delight and emotion.

"Erm...no?" she replied unconvincingly, and he laughed. "I suppose so. I wasn't sure whether most people celebrated anniversaries of their first dates. But after this past week, I wouldn't have _expected_ you to remember, anyway."

"You know what?" Troy said, subtly checking his jacket pocket for the secret present he'd been keeping there since the week he'd arrived home. He patted the pocket in satisfaction when he found that it was still there, safely tucked away for the right moment. "You're right that most people don't celebrate everything. But we're not most people. I'll always remember that night too – that was when I realised I was in love with you."

Of all the things he could have said, Gabi had not seen that coming. "Really? But you didn't even tell me until..."

"I know, it took me months. I really wanted to say it at the airport that first time, but I knew that would have made things harder for both of us."

She nodded, getting his explanation completely. She was about to speak again when she saw the look on his face, and realised that he was on the verge of a little speech of his own.

"I was saving this until tomorrow night, but I think your surprise deserves another in return," he announced, taking his little gift from its hiding place and placing it in front of her. It was a slim, rectangular shaped box, and had been wrapped in gold paper. She looked up at him, speechless, and then began to undo the package upon his encouraging gaze.

"Wrapped it myself," he explained as she attempted to get through the firmly sealed paper. Gabi giggled at his honesty, then gasped when she had finally managed to undo the last of the wrapping. Her fingers brushed over the gorgeously designed gift box for a moment.

Just before she went to open it, she thought about how much had changed in the last year. Twelve months before, she had been sitting in this very spot a much shyer, more reserved Gabriella. She'd had no idea what to expect on that first evening she had spent with Troy. She had never even been on a date before; and as well as all that, she hadn't quite worked out what to do with her life yet. Now, here she was a year later with no regrets.

She now knew that the second Troy had told her he had been accepted into the army, her whole life had changed. Her feelings for him had hit her in the gut in that moment; and while he had become a fixture in her life, his absence in the shop had made her realise something else. It had spurred her on to find out what job she really wanted to do. And she hadn't looked back since leaving.

"Go on, open it," Troy's voice broke the silence, and she carefully removed the lid.

She released a soft breath in amazement. It was a bracelet. A delicately made, silver bracelet with the most intricately beautiful pattern adorning it. She'd never seen anything like it, not even when looking in jewellery shops herself.

A year ago, the idea that Troy Bolton could be so...skilled when it came to choosing gifts was something she had never considered. But the thing was, back then he _was _just Troy Bolton – her friend and co-worker who liked winding her up at any opportunity.

Now he was hers – possessive as it may have sounded, though she wasn't in the least bit that way inclined. The point was, he _wasn't _just the guy everyone saw on the outside – the one who drove her to distraction in that supermarket. He was kind, considerate and sensitive – he had just hidden it well from everybody else by being cocky and playful.

Gabi reached out and picked up the bracelet in awe, as Troy tried to read the expressions crossing over her face. "Do you like it?"

She looked directly at him and smiled. He was still nervous, even after all this time. "Troy, I _love_ it. Thank you, it's beautiful. Put it on for me?"

He grinned and took it from her, but as she held out her wrist for him, he stopped to point something out to her. Something that clearly, she hadn't yet noticed. But that was fine by him, because he still had more to say.

"First I want you to look at this," he told her as he turned the silver bracelet over to reveal an engraving that spanned across the length of the piece of jewellery.

He had never been one for clichés. He knew he wanted to add something special to her present; but he hadn't wanted to be too cheesy. And as she read out the collection of words, he was happy to see that her smile was getting bigger by the second.

"_To the one who can always keep me in line...and I wouldn't have it any __other way."_

In hindsight, Troy realised upon hearing it out loud that perhaps it _was_ downright cheesy. It would definitely seem that way to their friends, who had been watching them interact with their playful banter for years now.

But he could see that his words had struck a chord with her when he heard her reaction. First Gabi let out a giggle, then gave way for the tears that were coming so fast they were blurring her eyes. She sat perfectly still, watching him as he carefully fastened the bracelet around her wrist.

"Who would have thought it: Bolton the 'slacker' is a true romantic," she finally said. She was half-joking, half serious. Of course the truth was, he had shown his romantic side a long time ago.

"Insulting me and complimenting me in the same sentence. How am I supposed to take that?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Shut up and come over here," she shushed him, and he got up from his seat and moved to her side of the table. She wound her arms around his neck as soon as he reached her, connecting their lips together in a gentle kiss.

"You know, I think Chad would say you've got me wrapped around your little finger. But I really don't care," Troy told her, a glint in his eye.

"Is that your subtle way of saying I'm bossy, Bolton?" Gabi enquired with a smirk.

"Erm...no?" was his answer, copied from her earlier response when they'd arrived at the pub.

"Try again," she said, raising her eyebrows expectantly. She would always love their teasing matches – she hoped that was something that would never get old between them.

"Hmm...I love you?" he conceded, and she laughed, knowing he had just admitted defeat.

"It's never a good idea to say it like that, you know," she replied, trying to sound annoyed with him but failing completely. "You're supposed to sound sure of yourself."

"I'm always sure when it comes to this, Montez," he told her, scooping her up in his arms and taking her by surprise. "You know I mean it when I say I love you."

"Love you, too," she answered softly.

It was then that Troy's phone buzzed with a message. He took one look at it, laughed, and passed it over for Gabi to read.

_Have you given Gabi her pressie yet? x_

It was from his mother. "How would she know that I'd end up giving you the bracelet tonight?" he asked aloud, looking confused.

Gabriella grinned. "Maybe because she knew where I was taking you. Obviously she was in on both of our surprises for each other. She must have guessed what you'd do when we got here."

Troy laughed again, then watched bemusedly as she began to tap out something on his phone, rather than giving it back to him. "What are you doing _now_, missy?"

Instead of answering his question, she kept typing for a few more seconds, then handed him the phone. She knew he would flip straight to his sent messages anyway.

She was proved right when a minute later, his face lit up as he read what was on the screen.

_He sure has. Lucy, I don't ever plan on letting your son go. (But I will be giving him his phone back now!) Gabi x _

Before Troy had a chance to respond, his phone buzzed once more.

_Troy, don't you ever let that girl go. Mum x_

He showed her the message, then smiled down at his girlfriend, placing another soft kiss on her lips.

"For once, I'm going to do exactly as I'm told."

**Probably my longest chapter ever!**

**Please Review**

**Thanks! **


	15. Opening Up

**Sorry for the longer wait, guys. I've been unwell. **

**Here's chapter fifteen...Enjoy!**

**Oh...And a quick disclaimer: I don't own Arsenal FC...lol ;)**

A week after celebrating their milestone year together, Gabi had something to ask Troy. Only she couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about it.

She knew she shouldn't worry really; but recent events now made her analyse things that she would never normally hesitate over.

Like grandparents...

Her own nan and grandad had asked to meet Troy, and she was still trying to decide how to broach the subject with him. Her nan had admitted to being surprised not to have been introduced to her granddaughter's boyfriend sooner.

The truth was, Gabi _did _want to show him off to her grandparents – but would a visit between them only heighten Troy's pain at the relationship he shared with his own relatives? Or to put it more accurately, the lack of a relationship...

But then again, was she over-thinking this? Maybe Troy was perfectly happy with the ways things were with his gran and grandad. Just because they couldn't see each other all the time; just because they weren't into hugs for greetings...

No. She had seen it. That day at the hospital, she had seen Troy's face – and pain had not been the only thing she had spotted there. There was...discomfort; and an awkwardness that told her things weren't at all straightforward with his mother's parents.

As usual, Gabriella had been too deep in thought to notice that she was being spoken to at the present time. Or rather, that someone was trying to get her attention.

"Gabs? Hey, are you okay?" came the voice of Troy as she snapped herself back to reality. "You looked like you were in a trance or something just then! Sorry it took so long to get these drinks – massive queue at the bar!"

She smiled softly at him and gladly took a sip of her wine. They were at the pub after her long day at work, and it was just the two of them. His mum was now up and about, and had insisted that Troy went out as planned because she would be fine on her own.

"I'm fine, Troy," she replied. But apparently, her preoccupied face was giving her away.

"Gabi..." Troy said in a tone that told her he wasn't at all convinced with her answer.

"Okay, I was just...thinking. It's just...there's something I need to ask you," she explained nervously.

Sensing her worry, Troy moved to sit right next to her as he wondered what could possibly be bothering her. "Don't be scared, ask me anything," he assured her gently.

"Well...it's my grandparents. They want to meet you, if you'd be up for it?" Gabi looked at him, trying to read the look on his face. It had turned from concern to confusion, and then into an amused grin that she hadn't been expecting.

"Is that all? Why all the nerves, Gabs? _Of course_ I'll come and meet them, I'd love to."

She smiled at his answer, then felt stupid and awkward. Now she would have to tell him why she'd had a hard time asking him. A task that was causing her much more anxiety than her original question.

"That's great. They're going to love you, Troy," she told him sincerely, skirting around his own question.

"I'm sure they will," he couldn't help retorting jokingly, getting another smile out of her. "But will you please tell me why you were looking so worried about it?"

Gabi sighed and took a deep breath, making herself look at him while she attempted to explain her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bringing this up because I know you'll tell me when you're ready. It's just that I saw how your grandparents were with you at the hospital and I...I suddenly felt a bit bad about dragging you off to see my own. You don't have to tell me anything, and maybe I'm completely wrong. It just seemed like you weren't all that close with them?"

As she finished talking, she cringed at the things she had said to him. Who was she to judge how other families behaved with each other, really?

Troy was silent for about a minute before she felt the need to say something. She feared she had upset him, and could not bear to look at him until she knew just how her words had affected him.

"Troy, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I just said all that now..."

"No...it's fine," he replied, sounding uncomfortable, but also as though he was ready to open up about some things. "My grandparents are...different."

Gabi had known that the instant she had first met them – and now she was about to find out why. Troy let his first statement sink in before he continued.

"They're very well off. My Grandad owns some big company that he built up from when he was in his twenties. I don't really know much more about it, except that now he's retired, and the business is run for him. And the way he and my Gran behaved at the hospital? That's just them – they're not like most grandparents. It's always very strange and...formal when we see them; and those times aren't often."

Gabi listened in silence, feeling saddened at what she was hearing. Then Troy went to speak again, revealing another secret.

"Mum was quite young when she had me, and they didn't approve of her decisions. Because she came from such a wealthy family, they weren't happy when she got pregnant out of wedlock. Mum once told me that they only ever wanted her to marry a wealthy man, and live the high life just as she'd been raised." Troy wrinkled his nose, hinting in a small way that he didn't agree with his grandparents' high expectations.

"But she had already fallen in love with my father," he added. Gabi noticed that he hadn't said 'Dad', but wasn't going to pry into that right now. It was the first time Troy had referred to any paternal figure at all.

"My grandparents didn't like him and there was a bit of a rift, at least until a few years back. Mum moved away, got married and then had me. My father...wasn't around much, so I didn't really know him after the age of two or three. That was when they divorced. Mum raised me single-handedly, and she did it without any handouts or help – not that my grandparents ever offered. A few years ago we found out my father had died. It's...really only ever been me and my mum, since I was small."

Gabi didn't know what to say. She had been watching his face intently as he told her his story. He had looked quite proud when discussing his mother, and she totally understood that. But he seemed somewhat hesitant in discussing his father. Part of her wanted to ask more about him, and also about how he had died. And yet he had sort of breezed past that subject. Not carelessly, but...awkwardly. Uncomfortably. There was something else he was still holding back from her, and she wasn't going to push him on it.

Right now, she was just grateful that he had trusted her enough to let her in as much as he had. And there was something she just had to tell him regarding what she was thinking now.

"You and your mum...you've been through a lot. I never realised, Troy. You know what though? I think what she's done is amazing. No wonder you're so close. She's raised a wonderful son."

And Gabi meant every word. She had always respected Lucy; she had liked her instantly. She had just as much respect for her own mother for raising _her_ alone after her own dad's death. But then again, Gabi wondered that maybe she hadn't realised just how lucky they still were, having all their family around them.

Troy suddenly took hold of her hand and smiled softly at her, letting her know how much he valued her comment. "You're right, my mum _is_ amazing," he agreed thoughtfully. "Listen, don't worry about me. It's not going to upset me to meet _your_ nan and grandad, just because mine aren't exactly the best. Yours mean a lot to you, I can tell. So just give me the day and I promise I'll be there."

He sounded so sincere, so sweet that she wanted to cry. He had just poured out most of his life story, yet was willing to brush it aside just for her.

Everyday, Gabriella Montez seemed to discover something more extraordinary about Troy Bolton.

"Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand that was still clutching hers tenderly. "Not just for saying you'll come, but also for telling me all of that."

"I've never spoken about my family like that before," Troy replied. "But it's easier with you." He then pressed a lingering kiss to her lips in a silent thank you of his own.

She knew she had yet to learn _everything_ about her boyfriend's life. But little by little, he was opening up to her. And she knew how hard it must be to do that. Because while she had told him about her own dad, and how he had lost his battle with cancer; she very rarely talked about what it felt like to be without that figure in her life.

As Troy pulled back from their kiss, he grinned playfully, the vulnerable moment he had shared with her now gone. "So, what were you saying just now about me being wonderful?" he asked. Gabi rolled her eyes at him, but giggled anyway.

She was thankful that most serious conversations between them could never become awkward. They were always able to bring back the banter – and she could still match his remarks without hesitation.

"Hmm, better change that description to 'arrogant'!" she said cheekily, announcing the last word with extra emphasis.

Troy merely finished the rest of his drink and leaned back on his seat. "The next round of drinks is on you for that one, Montez."

_**.HSM.**_

They were sitting in her grandparents' living room, and Gabi was pleased at how easily the conversation was flowing.

And her grandad, Harry, had of course thrown in what he considered to be the most important question of all. "D'you like football, Troy?"

Gabi had laughed, and her nan, Georgina, had rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Harry, give the young man a chance – he's only just got here!" she tutted.

It was Troy's turn to let out a chuckle as he answered the older man's question easily. "That's okay – I do indeed, sir."

"Hey, none of this 'sir' stuff, call me Harry," he said firmly, giving his granddaughter's boyfriend a warm smile.

Troy nodded appreciatively and smiled back. As he turned to meet Gabriella's gaze for a few seconds, she saw how much her family's acceptance meant to him.

"So, which team do you support?" Troy asked as he went to look at Gabi's grandad once again.

"Arsenal. Been going to their games for years now. And yourself?"

The younger man was grinning now as he replied, "That's my team too!"

Georgina sighed over-dramatically at the revelation, but her face was hiding a smile. "Oh no, another football fan! I can feel a long discussion about the offside rule coming on...Gabi, why don't you come and help me in the kitchen with lunch?"

Gabi smiled and stood up to join her nan, but before they retreated, her grandad piped up in response to his wife. "You know dear, footie fans don't always talk about the offside rule."

Everyone laughed, and one glance at Troy was enough to assure Gabi that he would be more than fine with being left alone with her grandfather.

"Oh Gabi, he's such a nice young man," Georgina exclaimed as soon as they had entered the kitchen – closing the door behind them first.

She glowed with pride at her nan's words. "I know, he's great isn't he?" she couldn't help adding with a grin. It wasn't a question; it was her statement of complete and utter agreement.

"You look so happy, my dear. And is that really the same boy you used to tell me about? The one from the shop who was always joking with you?"

Gabi's smile was glued to her face. "I _am_ happy, Nan. Really happy. And yeah, he's the one. He can still make me laugh, believe me. But I've learnt so much more about him since we got together. There's a sensitive side to him too."

"Oh, that much is obvious, I can tell," Georgina replied as they finished preparing lunch.

As they rejoined the two men in the living room – who were both still engaged in their football-related chatter – Gabriella continued to marvel at the look on Troy's face. His features were alight with animation as he and her grandad bonded over their love of Arsenal.

It was at times like this that she just wanted to pause the moment and make it last a bit longer.

All too soon, Troy would have to leave again. And the more he opened up to her, the more she found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with him. Each time they said goodbye, it was getting harder.

But the moments they shared when he was here; they were more than worth it.

**Not too far until this story hits 200!**

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**Thanks :)**


	16. Too Much Fear

**Hey guys. Thanks for all your amazing reviews!**

**So, this chapter brings with it a bit of a twist. It's quite intense and I tried to write it so that you can see what's going on inside both characters' heads. Can't really predict what everyone's going to think of it so I'd really appreciate as much feedback as possible from all you readers – so please, do drop me a review to tell me your thoughts on chapter sixteen! Thanks, and here it is...**

_All too soon, Troy would have to leave again. And the more he opened up to her, the more Gabriella found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with him. Each time they said goodbye, it was getting harder... _

_**.HSM.**_

His head was spinning once again as he tried to wrap his mind around what he had just found out.

Just what was he supposed to do now?

Surely he was entitled to more notice with this kind of thing? There were barely two weeks to go before he was due to fly back to Canada. Then again, he supposed that's the risk he took when he signed up for another two years.

A few years back, maybe he'd have seen things differently: this was his career; he'd known this could happen one day.

But that was before he'd found something more important than the army. Or rather, _someone._

Realising he was still clutching the phone receiver in a daze, Troy slowly put it down. He was glad he was alone in the house at the moment – he needed the silence to think. His mother had gone back to work now; although only for a few hours a week to start off with.

However, in his fragile state of mind, he had managed to temporarily forget that Gabriella was coming over. And she would be here any minute now.

_Or in the next second, _he thought as the doorbell rang loudly. He stood up shakily, trying to prepare himself for this.

There was nothing that could help him. In fact, all words failed him.

Troy almost weakened completely at the sight of his girlfriend as he let her into the house.

"Are you okay?" Gabi asked, concerned. As they sat down she noticed how remarkably pale he looked.

"I...don't know," he answered honestly, his voice quiet and peculiar.

"What's happened? Is your mum okay?" she suddenly thought, panicking.

She looked so worried on his behalf, and it only reminded him of one of the many reasons he loved her. He loved her far too much, and it was making the forthcoming conversation so painful for him.

"Mum's fine, she's still at work. It's alright," he managed to reassure her.

Gabi's face relaxed of it's urgency; but her features still showed her worry about him. "Then what's going on? Troy, you look...I mean, you're starting to scare me now..."

"I just had a phone call," he began. It was enough to tell her exactly what subject this discussion was about, and her eyes focused on his anxiously.

"Oh," was all she could say back.

Troy nodded his head. "You know I re-enlisted, before I got back from Afghan?" he asked softly.

In that moment, as he looked at the expression on her face...oh God, he wished he hadn't promised himself to his career for another two years.

Gabi finally nodded solemnly, waiting for him to go on. Her breath caught in her throat. Already she couldn't cope with what he might be about to say to her.

"When I go back to base...I've been told I have to stay there." The words were like a blow in the stomach to both of them. He'd had to say them; she'd had to hear them.

He only wished they weren't true. He wished he wasn't obligated to go. He had both a mother _and _a girlfriend he was scared of losing here.

How could he abandon his mum so soon after her heart attack, knowing he wouldn't be back soon on leave? And how could he and Gabi stay together if they were living so far apart? He knew more than most what the strains were of maintaining a relationship overseas.

"So...you're moving to Canada?" Gabriella checked, though she knew what he'd meant.

But Troy didn't nod, or even confirm it. His mind was frozen on his previous thoughts. "I don't know," he told her instead. And it was the truth.

"What do you mean, you don't know? I thought you didn't have a choice!" she exclaimed, stunned.

"Well...I don't, really. But how _can_ I just leave, Gabs? What about you; what about Mum?" His voice sounded lost, confused. Terrified.

Gabi was channelling most of her energy into not bursting into tears on the spot. The small amount she had left was what she would now have to use to keep Troy afloat.

Even though the idea of him moving made her feel just as scared as he looked.

"Troy, do you really think your mum would be happy if you quit the army and stayed here for her? She'd be angry that you'd thrown away your career." She kept her words firm and calm; a strong contrast to the way she was feeling inside.

The silence that filled the room told her he knew she was right. But he was also aware that she hadn't answered his other question.

"And what about you?" he probed. He was trying to sound just as collected as she did. But of course he was growing more and more distressed by the second.

"You can't give up your career for _me_ either," she stated determinedly. She thought about how conceited and assuming that had sounded – but he had been the one to insinuate it in the first place.

"Do you want me to go?" he replied, then regretted it instantly. That wasn't her intention and he knew it.

Gabi turned her hurt eyes on him at the suggestion. "No, of course I don't."

"I'm sorry," Troy offered, moving to put a hand on her arm. She almost moved away, but decided to stay put and explain her earlier comments fully.

"You wanted to be in the army for so long, Troy. That ambition came along before I did – I won't let you throw it all away. Not unless your heart isn't in the job anymore."

He couldn't answer that. His heart _was _still in it. But he couldn't deny that a bigger piece of his heart was also very much with her.

"To be honest, if it weren't for my job and Uni, I'd be saying that I was coming with you," Gabi continued.

He certainly hadn't expected that. Although suddenly he could understand her reasoning from just now. If she _was _going to drop everything and move away with him, Troy didn't think he could have let her make that sacrifice.

Still, her absolute conviction that she would have done so if she could left him touched. "Gab..." he said breathlessly, but she stopped him so that she could finish speaking herself.

"So, since I can't do that...I'll just have to fly over at every opportunity," she added.

He studied the look on her face. She looked quite sure of herself, as though convinced that this would make everything alright.

Only he knew better. He wished he didn't; but the knowledge he'd had for years was now coming to the front of his mind, threatening to spill out.

"Oh Gabi...that's not going to work," Troy answered gently, his hands covering his face now.

As his short statement sank in, she couldn't fathom what he meant by it. "W...what?"

He sighed, and the look of pain she had seen flash across his face before was back. He took hold of both of her hands, his head bent down as he stared intently at the bracelet sitting comfortably on her arm. The one that he had given her so recently to symbolise their year together.

"Even if you put yourself through all that coming and going...things won't be that simple. I wish they could be."

Gabriella tried to pull away from him. She didn't want to hear anymore. But she had no idea that he was getting ready to let her in on his secret.

"Hey, you don't understand. Please let me explain," Troy pleaded, softly cupping her face. "I've seen what happens when couples are separated like this. It ruins them."

She waited for him to tell her more – she could see in his face that he needed to get it all out.

"My father was in the army. He was hardly ever home and it put a huge strain on his marriage to my mum. He was posted overseas and Mum had no passport...there wasn't enough money available for her to get one and she had to stay here with me. Eventually the stress of trying to make things work long distance took it's toll, and they split up. At first, after they divorced, my father sent money for me every month. But then, suddenly all contact was lost. Then when I was in my late teens, Mum got a phone call out of the blue. He was back in the country, but he was in the hospital, and in a bad way..."

Gabi had been rendered speechless quite early on during Troy's speech. But it wasn't over yet.

"Mum had never stopped loving him, you see. So we both made our way to the hospital that day, and she was in bits. I had never seen her cry before that day. _I_ was in shock, but I didn't really know what to do or say. I mean, this was my dad; but I couldn't say I'd ever really known him. But he was the love of my mum's life. She called my grandparents for support and, to our surprise, they actually turned up at the hospital."

Troy closed his eyes at the memory, and Gabi had a bad feeling that this story was about to get even worse. "We were waiting for hours. My father had been very severely injured and it was touch and go. I went in to see him, too – I needed to let him know that I would have liked to have known him. But he was barely conscious. After he died, we found out that he had begged for my Mum and I to be found and told about him before it was too late."

Gabi let out a long breath of emotion. "Oh Troy..." she uttered, not knowing what else to say.

"Mum was heartbroken. To this day I'm haunted by that look of devastation on her face. But in the middle of all that, my gran and grandad had to stick the boot in," he told her, clearly needing to include each and every detail now that he'd been forced to relive that day.

"What happened?" she found herself asking quietly.

"My gran asked the woman dealing with the paperwork whether there were any 'assets' left over. They hung around just long enough to find out whether my father had left Mum and I any money."

Gabi reached for Troy's hand and stroked it. "That's awful..."

"Anyway, the answer was, there was none. I ended up telling them off - Mum was in no state to do it herself. I think a small part of what I said to them really hit home somehow. They stopped bringing up money all the time. But other than that, they haven't really changed."

The two were quiet for a while until Troy reminded himself of the very reason he'd had to explain all that to her.

"My grandparents aren't relevant right now, though," he said as he looked at her again. "I just needed to tell you about what happened between my parents. Mum told me about her and my father long before he passed away, and if I could only make you understand the hurt she went through..."

He didn't need to finish. She got the message; she almost felt the pain too.

Then something else occurred to her – after hearing all of that, there was one thing she was now more curious about than ever. "What made you want to join the army, after going through all of that with you mum?"

"Well, I was always set on doing it, but when my mum told me everything I had second thoughts. She wouldn't have any of that, though. She convinced me that there were many more reasons to join up than to not. So I just decided to go for it, as soon as I could." _And then I fell for you..._he added silently.

Gabriella looked at him and waited, sensing that he still had much more to say.

She was right.

Troy took a deep breath and continued. "Gabi, I know you waited for six months; and we got through it, we were fine. But this is _two years_. That's how long we'd have to wait to even have any stability – whether you travelled back and forth or not. I want you to live your life, get your degree; find your dream job. You won't be able to do all that properly if you're focusing on us and splitting your time between here and Canada."

Gabi finally found her voice again. She could hear his love for her in what he was saying; but wasn't this her choice nonetheless?

"Troy, if I wasn't prepared to do this, then I wouldn't be making you go," she reasoned.

"I know, I know," he said, pulling her to him. "But we might end up growing unhappy along the way."

She unwrapped herself from his arms and stood up, upset that he wasn't even going to try.

"I do understand how much it's affected you – everything that happened with your parents. But we're not the same as them, Troy," she told him firmly. Gabi didn't want to make comparisons, but she needed him to see what he was wasting here. "We're strong, and we _can_ do this. We're worth it."

Troy already knew how he felt about her statement. The thought of telling her made his heart ache, but he genuinely felt that what he was about to reply was the truth.

"I'm not sure if we are."

It sounded almost hypocritical, considering that earlier he had been talking about quitting the army for her. But the fact was, he loved her and he had believed that doing so would be the _only_ way they could stay together. If he had agreed for one minute that they would be perfectly fine living in separate countries, he would have had no need to even suggest quitting.

Besides, Gabi had made it plain that giving up his career was out of the question. And he had told her he wouldn't let her risk her own.

So now he was admitting something that fear had led him to believe. He was effectively explaining to the love of his life that he didn't have enough faith in their relationship.

The long pause that followed his response was something he took as clarification that it had been understood; but Gabi asked for it anyway.

"Not sure about what?" It was indeed mind-numbingly clear to her what he was trying to say. But she couldn't bring herself to believe it until she heard the actual words he had implied. Their whole relationship was dwindling right before her eyes, and with no prior warning.

His voice sounded so far away, so _distant_ when he spoke next. When she looked up, she realised that it was because he had moved to the other side of the room.

"I grew up knowing that my mother was the strongest woman I'd ever seen – even as a child I knew that was true. But as much as she loved my dad, she just didn't have the strength to keep pretending their marriage would survive the separation."

Troy made his way back over to stand in front of Gabi, hating himself for the look of pain that had formed on her face.

He couldn't lie to her, though. In his head, he was doing the right thing. He was doing this _for _her.

"I don't think we're strong enough to cope with the distance, Gabi. I don't think it's worth ruining our lives for." It wasn't supposed to sound quite so hurtful.

It was too late to re-phrase anything now, though.

He had wanted to sound wise; sensible. Little did he know that all Gabriella had seen in that speech was how scared he was.

Knowing enough to see that he could not be swayed now, she turned away from him and headed in the direction of the door.

She wasn't going to let him say anything else, but neither did she want to end things the way his speech just had.

So she felt it to be about the boldest thing she had ever done when, after about a minute, she swivelled around to face him looking emotionless. She looked him straight in the eye as she opened her mouth to say one last thing.

"Do you want to know what I think? I think you've just let your fear dictate your entire future happiness. And I think one day you'll wish you'd done this differently."

Then she turned on her heel, without waiting for an answer, and walked out of the house. And only then, as she got into her car and realised that he hadn't come after her; only then did she let herself weaken.

She burst into tears.

**I hope you could all follow what was going on in Troy's head (whether you agreed with him or not!) and what made him do a complete turn-around with his decision. **

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	17. Talking It Over

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! This story has gone over the 200 mark and I am so grateful to you all for your feedback! This is the highest amount of reviews I have ever received :D**

**I loved reading what you thought about the last chapter. So, finally...here is chapter seventeen. Enjoy! **

"D'you want me to go and sort him out for you, Gabs?"

Those were the first words out of Sharpay's mouth once she realised that what her friend was telling her about Troy was true.

Gabriella sighed and resisted the urge to throw a cushion at her companion. The day after she had walked out following Troy's decision, here she was pouring her heart out back at her flat.

Somehow she doubted that her best friend understood quite how complex the situation was, though. As much as she knew Sharpay would be there for her, this was why she had waited a day to talk about it.

Actually, she hadn't said a word about it to anyone until now.

"No, Shar. Please don't do that," she replied firmly.

"But he's being an idiot! Look, if I managed to help you two get together, then I _know_ I can help that boy face his...issues," the blonde retorted determinedly.

She didn't seem to care that she wasn't exactly clear on the 'issues' she was referring to in the first place. Gabi hadn't gone into that much detail - despite her upset - still feeling that it wouldn't be right of her to discuss something that was Troy's business. All she had said to explain away Troy's actions was that he was overwhelmed with worry that they couldn't stay together under the circumstances.

"No, you can't. Only he can do that," Gabi explained patiently. She had already accepted the fact that he would have to help himself – but it didn't stop the hurt from flooding through her.

"If that's the method you're going with, you're gonna be waiting a _long_ time..." Sharpay droned back, looking glum.

Gabriella was aware that her friend was making a very well-known point - that men are slow. But that wasn't the only thing that came to her mind from the comment.

"I'm not supposed to _wait_, Shar," she told her. "That was the point. That's why Troy ended it. Apart from the fact that he's scared – which is exactly what I said to him before I left."

Sharpay looked a bit stunned at this revelation, and Gabi wasn't all that surprised. She may have grown more confident in the last year; but she never thought she'd be able to tell someone off in the way she had done the day before.

"You mean you actually gave him a piece of your mind? I've gotta say, Gabi, I know Troy's my friend too, but...good for you!"

She didn't feel particularly good, and she doubted she would for a long time yet. "Well, it was more like giving him a piece of advice, really."

_Or it was just something that he had to hear, whether he wanted to or not..._

The buzzing of someone's phone halted their discussion, and Sharpay quickly found her own, signalling that the message was hers. After half a minute, she looked up again.

"Taylor's on her way over."

Gabi nodded wordlessly. She wondered just how much their other friend knew. Troy might have confided in Chad by now; and it was debatable that he could have spilled the whole story to his own girlfriend.

Before they knew it, Sharpay was letting Taylor inside, and Gabriella was preparing herself for another heavy conversation.

"Oh, Gabs. How are you doing?" was the soft greeting she received.

She looked at the sympathy etched on Taylor's face and gave her a weak smile. Then she shook her head as if to say, 'don't ask'.

"I just left Chad back at home trying to get hold of Troy. He was calling him an idiot...and coming from someone who's been well known for idiocy for quite sometime...that's saying something."

Gabi tried to find some amusement in Taylor's attempt to lighten the mood. But the joke only told her that clearly, none of her friends knew the truth behind Troy's fears.

Again, she had to re-tell what had happened between her and Troy the previous day, and again, she left out the revelations of his family's past. Even without that, though, Taylor looked quite incredulous.

"He must have known that one day he might be posted abroad," she said logically. "_And_ he signed up for an additional two years. Why didn't he think about this when you first got together?"

It was a question that Gabi had almost brought up in front of the man himself. Especially given the story he had shared with her. That alone had almost been enough to stop him joining the army. Why didn't it prevent him from beginning a relationship?

A relationship that he had deemed not strong enough to survive.

Then again, you can _choose _whether or not to embark on a career.

You can't choose when to fall in love, any more than you can choose who you're falling for.

_**.HSM.**_

"Wow." For once in his life, Chad had nothing to say.

Troy hadn't answered any of the messages he had left for him, so he had taken it upon himself to go round to the house and see him. Eventually Chad had persuaded his best friend to talk to him, and now he had just heard everything.

_Everything._

He looked at Troy carefully, wondering what his mate was thinking now that he had offloaded all that information. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't really tell yet.

"I know you've just told me a big chunk of your life story, so I don't want to sound insensitive...but let's face it, I was never gonna be able to come up with something that was actually _sensitive_ anyway, was I?" Chad was leading up to giving his honest opinion, but decided to add a quick joke beforehand.

Troy's mouth hadn't even twitched, though. Instead he was staring at his friend vacantly, clearly waiting for him to go on.

_Okay, wrong time for a joke..._

"Right, so I'll just say what I think, shall I?" Chad said boldly, without looking for a real response. "Mate, you've just thrown away the best thing you ever had."

Troy averted his eyes. His normally idiotic best mate had just made _him _feel like the idiot. And the worst part was, the ache in his heart told him that Chad had got it spot on.

But this was a sacrifice. It was _supposed _to hurt.

"I didn't have a choice," he explained. "I just...look, I don't think I could bear for history to repeat itself."

"Troy, what happened with your mum and dad was a long time ago. Times have changed now – relationships _can _work out," Chad insisted, feeling like he was growing wiser by the second. Maybe it had something to do with his certainty that the man he was trying to convince had suddenly lost his mind.

"Maybe people can stay together," Troy bargained. "But if they do, they might not be happy. They might have given up huge parts of their lives to stay together. How could I just let Gabi put her whole career on the back-burner, for me?"

Chad sighed out in pure frustration. "From what you told me just now, she never said anything about giving up Uni _or _her job."

He was about to launch into his own explanation again: the fact that Gabriella couldn't possibly concentrate fully on her own ambitions as long as she was watching him follow his. But looking up into the face of his friend, he knew Chad would never understand.

Maybe no one ever would.

As he moved his gaze back down to the floor, Troy found that his next words just spilled out without warning. "I just can't let her suffer the kind of pain my mum had to go through."

When he looked at Chad again, he was greeted with a knowing look. There was a glimpse of understanding there too; but mainly it seemed as though he had something else to get off his chest.

"And what about you, Troy? Are you telling me that this is all about Gabriella? Because I think you're also scared for yourself. _You _don't want to suffer that pain either, do you?"

No, he didn't. Of course he didn't, Troy mused silently. But was he more scared than he cared to admit?

The thing was that, fear or not, he didn't want to watch his whole relationship crumble in front of him. "You're right, okay? I _don't_ want to feel that kind of pain – I saw what it did to my mum. I don't want to go through what she did, and neither do I want Gabi to go through the same thing."

Chad did not get a chance to react to this statement. Unbeknown to the both of them, Lucy Bolton had arrived home and was now listening in. Clearly they had been far too involved in their intense discussion to hear her come in.

Regardless, here she was and now, having overheard her son's last comment; she spoke up before his best friend could respond.

"Troy Bolton. Are you really sitting there saying you've let that girl go, over something that happened between me and your father years ago?"

He hated how his mother's description of their past made his reasoning feel so inadequate. But it did, and this led to another silence while he tried to come up with an answer.

Troy hadn't confided in Lucy over his decision. In fact, all she had heard out of him since the previous day was that he and Gabi had split up. No more, no less.

He didn't want to go into all of this with her. But now it seemed unavoidable.

His best friend and his mother stood there in front of him, awaiting an answer. And, feeling nothing but helpless in this moment, what Troy did next only went to prove just how much fear had taken over in his feelings.

He ran.

**Sorry it couldn't be a happier chapter guys! Only a few chapters left in this story...**

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	18. Too Late Now

**Thank you for your Reviews! Love that you all understood Troy's point of view too :) I was hoping that would be the case, because originally this story was written in only Gabriella's perspective. **

**Welcome to new readers, who I saw have added this to their favourites. Thanks! Please do drop me a review and let me know what you thought once you're all caught up! :D**

**This chapter skips ahead two weeks, but shows Troy thinking back to what happened after he ran off. Enjoy! **

He was sitting on a plane, feeling a constant wave of nausea. But this was no travel sickness.

Troy Bolton knew exactly why he felt like this. It was because he had lost the love of his life; and it was all his own fault. He found it to be an extra kick in the teeth that despite his best efforts, he was still suffering.

He had tried to avoid the pain his mother had gone through. But the ache in his chest told him he had done exactly the opposite.

God, how he hated the irony with every breath in his body right now.

After being confronted by his mother that day, Troy had escaped to his car and then driven to the first place that had come to his mind. He had taken himself straight to Gabriella's building.

It completely defied all his previous arguments.

He knew that he had hurt Gabi by ending their relationship – even if he _was_ just trying to spare her more pain in the long run. If he was going to follow through with his vow not to end up like his parents did; then turning up to her_ flat_ was the worst thing he could possibly have done.

If he'd set eyes on her again, he wouldn't have been able to do what he had to.

And so, while he'd longed to run inside and take everything back just to be with her; instead Troy had simply sat alone in his car.

He thought for hours about how easy it would be for him to open the door and go to her; how hard it was to just let it all go.

Did everyone really think he _wanted_ this?

The way he felt about Gabi...it was so powerful that he couldn't bear the idea of it being ruined. The way he saw it, trying to make it work while being so far from each other could tear them apart with no way to recover.

After justifying his reasons inside his head, Troy had taken one last look at the building in front of him. There was a part of him that had also wanted to see Gabi just to explain himself more than he already had. Maybe to repair some of her hurt.

But it was pointless. He couldn't do that without implying yet again what he still thought: that their relationship wasn't capable of survival under strain.

And so, finally, he'd forced himself to start the car again and drive away.

Once back home, his mum had tried to talk to him. She'd sat him down and told him that what he had with Gabi was even stronger than her marriage to his father had once been.

And Troy had wanted to believe that - desperately. But Lucy's words had not been able to ease his fears.

Chad had tried to reason with him, as had Taylor. Sharpay had even had her turn giving him a piece of her mind, despite Gabi's request for her not to do so.

The only person he hadn't spoken to was Gabriella herself.

As the date of his leaving had drawn nearer, Troy had blocked everyone out, making himself focus only on the job he had to do. Preparing for his move.

And that he had done. The only time he had shown any emotion was today, as he had said his goodbyes. He'd had a last minute attack of nerves about leaving his mother, although she was doing fine now – and she'd managed not to mention Gabriella as she reassured him and then waved him off.

Now here he was. Mid-air and regretting his stubbornness.

While he had been missing Gabi from the moment he had ended it; _this_ feeling - that he'd made a monumental mistake - had only hit him as he had got on the plane.

What had he done?

_**.HSM.**_

"You know he left today?" Sharpay announced matter of factly as Gabi opened her door to find the blonde waiting for her.

She sighed. As if she would have forgotten _that_.

Opening the door even wider so that her friend could step inside, Gabriella nodded. "Of course I knew that, Shar," she stated quietly.

As they sat down, Sharpay looked like she wanted to add something; but was thinking better of it. This was so unlike her that Gabi felt the need to push the subject.

"What is it; what did you want to say?" she asked even though she already had a pretty good idea of the answer.

"Well...it's just that I thought one of you would have done something by now. And since Troy didn't..."

"What, you thought I'd have gone running by now, begging him to reconsider?" Gabi snapped back.

It was not in her nature to be so rude, but she hadn't been able to help it. Sharpay had been quick to praise her before, when she'd spoken up to Troy. Why had she suddenly changed her tune?

Seeing the hurt look on her face as she looked up, though, made her feel terrible. "I'm sorry Shar," she said softly.

Her friend shrugged off the apology, deciding that Gabi's mood was down to how she was feeling right now given the circumstances. "He's been ridiculously stubborn. You're the only one that could've made him see sense."

Sharpay's words hung in the air – as did her _un_spoken ones. _So why didn't you try?_

Gabi knew that was exactly what she meant. But then she picked up on something else that had been said. "What do you mean, he's been stubborn? You've said something to him?"

"I couldn't just do nothing! I may have said a little piece about how he needed to get a grip and stop being so selfish, but..."

"Oh, God," Gabi breathed out in distress. It was looking like she might have to tell Sharpay the truth behind Troy's actions.

"What?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head, wanting to find out what else had gone on before she risked revealing anything. "What else did you say?"

"Oh, that was it, really. I think Tay's tried giving him a lecture, and so has Chad, believe it or not. Actually, _he's_ been acting a bit strangely – it's like he knows more than he's letting on." Sharpay looked genuinely puzzled by what this knowledge might be, but Gabi wasn't surprised at all.

In getting Sharpay's unwitting confirmation that Chad knew Troy's secret too (and hadn't said a word to anyone about it either), Gabriella decided _not_ to tell her friend.

She quickly explained her look of understanding away as another assumption. "Well, he's Troy's best mate. He probably tells him everything."

"So he'd trust _Chad_ with more information that he would you?" Sharpay seemed a bit perturbed by this idea.

"Anyway," Gabi went on, wanting to change the subject quickly. "If you thought me making a last minute stand could change Troy's mind, I'm afraid you're wrong, Sharpay. If that were the case, I would've talked him round in the first place; but I _couldn't_. This is something he has to sort out for himself."

"As far as I'm concerned the 'something' he needs to sort out are his commitment issues."

Gabi pondered that phrase silently for a moment. It wasn't so much 'commitment issues' as it was a fear of the past haunting the future. But, she supposed, if Troy was going to let his parents' divorce affect all of his relationships then he probably _would_ look like a commitment-phobe.

To everyone but those who knew the truth behind his fear.

Before she could answer her friend's last remark, Sharpay had moved closer to Gabi and was now kneeling right in front of her.

"Gabi, listen to me. I _know_ he's the love of your life; and I know _you_ are exactly the same thing for Troy. He's just left the country and he might not be back at all in the next two years for all we know! The bottom line, however much of an idiot he is, is that you two should be together. So what are you gonna do?"

Gabriella took a long look at the determined, feisty woman she called her best friend and sighed, wishing it were as easy as simply finding the optimism.

But it just wasn't.

"It's too late now," she whispered tearfully, before standing up and walking away without another word.

It was time to let go and move on. She wished it wasn't; but she didn't have a choice anymore.

He had gone.

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**Thank you as always x**


	19. Home Again

**Hey everyone! Thanks for your reviews :) You are all lovely! **

**On a quick side note: Are any of you Demi Lovato fans? Her album, Unbroken, came out in the US last week and it's amazing! (Big fan over here!) Not only that, but she's done lots of live performances lately and her voice is just incredible! Check them all out on YouTube if you want ;) **

**Anyway...I hope you all enjoy chapter nineteen!**

He was only travelling from one destination to another in the car, but Troy still found himself searching everywhere for her with his eyes.

It had been a whole year since he'd set eyes on her, but he'd know her face anywhere. She'd been on his mind from the moment he'd touched down on English soil.

To be fair, he'd only allowed his thoughts to drift over to one Gabriella Montez once he'd heard that his mother was going to be okay.

That was why he was here. He'd been granted compassionate leave after getting an urgent call that Lucy Bolton had once again been rushed to hospital.

It was another heart attack.

For the first few months that Troy had been living in Canada, he'd been hearing first-hand that his mum was absolutely fine. She'd upped her working hours since he'd left; but had promised that she wasn't over-doing it.

Then, during one of their most recent phone calls, he'd noticed a change in her voice. Lucy had told him that her company had gained a new senior manager, and that he was piling on the pressure.

She'd seemed a bit stressed, but nonetheless had tried to assure her son that she wouldn't let herself be pushed too hard.

Contact since then had been less frequent, due to Troy's army commitments keeping him even busier and, he presumed, his mum's life being kept busy enough herself with work.

And then came the call from the hospital.

He'd been informed that his mum had suffered from chest pain this time. She had been at home, and had realised what was happening herself before calling for an ambulance.

It was from that point onwards that the situation had become more serious, as Lucy had become unconscious – making the call to Troy even more crucial.

So here he was, now nearing the hospital and preparing himself to see his mother for the first time in twelve months.

In between the first call he received and the time it had taken him to get here, Troy had heard more news. The first message had been that Lucy was stable.

Then came further reassurance: she was conscious, and her vital signs were improving steadily.

As he finally stepped out of the taxi, he couldn't help taking one last glance around, as if Gabi might actually be waiting somewhere for him.

He knew full well that she wasn't – he had made it perfectly clear that she shouldn't do any waiting around for him. And yet right now, all he wanted – all he _needed_ - was her.

Nothing had changed regarding how he felt about her. He was still in love. He was still an idiot (as Chad regularly liked to remind him in every message exchanged). And it was still too late to repair all the damage he'd done before he had left.

Which was why he had to banish his brain of all these thoughts. Completely.

Otherwise, his mother would be able to guess what was wrong with him. And he really wanted to focus all his attention on looking after _her_.

Troy gave Lucy's name at the hospital and was promptly directed to the correct room.

And when he walked inside, all previous thoughts really _were_ forgotten. He was almost knocked sideways by the shock of what he saw.

"Mum?" he croaked, struggling to control his emotions.

Her eyes had been closed, but at the sound of her only child's voice, Lucy Bolton immediately opened them and put on a weak smile. "Hi, Troy. They told me you were coming."

Her eyes were shining, signalling her happiness at seeing him after so long. But the rest of her appearance was the reason for his initial stupor.

She was so pale, and she just didn't look like _her_. He didn't know what to say. So he settled for the one word he had already uttered.

"Mum..."

Troy's shock and fear must have been evident in his voice and his appearance, because suddenly his mother was trying to comfort him from her hospital bed.

"It's not as bad as it looks," she claimed unconvincingly, and Troy inwardly told himself to man up.

"It's alright Mum, don't worry about me. How...how are you doing?"

Lucy raised her eyebrows at him in her usual motherly manner, and Troy saw a flicker of her personality returning amidst her illness.

"Oh, stop being so formal, will you? Just come over here and give your mum a hug! She hasn't seen you in a year and she's missed you!"

He laughed, and moved towards her straight away to give her a protective hug. Not that he _could_ protect her from her health; but he only wished he were able to make it all better.

Part of him wanted to lecture her about working too hard - he was certain that was what had led to this. Just what had that new manager been playing at?

But now was not the ideal time. Not least because his mother's doctor had just walked in. It was Dr Long, the same man who had looked after her the last time she had ended up here.

They exchanged greetings, and then Troy waited to hear what news he had for them.

"Okay, let me explain what the next course of action is," the doctor began kindly. "We're going to do something called an Angiogram, which means we'll be able to look inside your arteries and assess your condition. It's going to help us determine what sort of treatment we can give you."

Troy hadn't considered any of this before. The last time – the _first_ time, Lucy had only been in the hospital for a few days. But now...now things were going to be very different.

It was terrifying. In some ways, even more terrifying than being in Afghanistan.

Still, he couldn't help but put his faith in this doctor. And looking at the expression on his mum's face, he could see that she felt the same.

Dr Long gave them more details about what the Angiogram would involve, and then went to leave again.

"We'll carry out the procedure this afternoon," he told them. "You'll be collected and prepped for it in a few hours' time, so until then try and get some more rest."

Sitting in the chair beside the bed, Troy looked at Lucy again. "It's good that they're being so quick about this," he started, genuinely quite impressed with the care his mum was receiving.

She simply nodded, deciding that no spoken answer was necessary.

"Mum...what happened? The last time I spoke to you properly, you said something about a senior manager? Did he overwork you?"

She closed her eyes in preparation, about to make a few admissions that ashamed her. "There's just been so much work to get done in a short space of time. He may have put on the pressure...well, he did that to everyone; but I did end up pushing myself too hard as well. It...might be more than that though..."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, I was under a lot of stress, and it just felt like there weren't enough hours in the day. About a month ago I had a cigarette, just to try and calm myself down. I ended up taking up smoking all over again. I was so annoyed because I'd been doing so well after giving up."

She looked so upset with herself that Troy couldn't bear to criticise her actions. He was silent for a minute or two before responding.

"Have you been getting enough sleep, Mum?"

Again, Lucy looked sheepish. "Not as much as I should be, if I'm honest. And I've already told the doctor all of this, Troy," she added.

He nodded. His mother was taking full responsibility for what had caused this latest heart attack. But it had the effect of making Troy feel worse and worse by the second.

Yes, she had succumbed to her far too hectic lifestyle once again; but Troy hadn't _been_ there for her. Not just there as in in the same country, but also there for her in general.

He wished he had checked up on her a bit more...maybe burying herself into her work had been a way of coping with his absence?

"I'm sorry, Mum," he said, now also cursing himself for selfishly thinking of other things en route to the hospital. He'd been flooding his mind with thoughts of Gabriella, and yet it was all his own fault that he was without her now anyway.

"Hey, I'm not having any of that," Lucy insisted sharply. Again, she was beginning to sound more like her old self. "You've no reason to be sorry."

"I just feel like I could have done more to support you..."

"Troy, you were in Canada – how could you have known I was going to be a silly old fool and make myself ill again? And _don't_ you go saying you shouldn't have left, either."

He smiled, in spite of the seriousness of the conversation. "Okay, Mum, alright. Don't get stressed out about it, you're supposed to be resting you know!"

Lucy smiled faintly and relaxed again, now that her point had been taken on board.

In hindsight, Troy supposed he should have expected what she had to say to him next. But instead his mum caught him completely off guard with one question.

"So are you going to get in touch with Gabriella while you're here?"

_I don't think I have the right to do that anymore..._he thought sadly, after he had recovered from his surprise at her words.

"I can't do that. I messed up, Mum. Badly. If I tried to see or speak to her now, it would be cruel."

"Well," his mother sighed. "At least you've finally realised what you've done. But it might not be too late, you know."

"I realised my mistake the moment I got on that plane," he confided. "But it _is _too late. By now she could have met someone else. Someone who isn't stupid enough to let her go."

He strongly doubted that anyone else could ever love Gabi as much as he did.

He never imagined that when he made the decision to leave her behind, he would spend the following months feeling so empty without her.

"I very much doubt that, Troy," Lucy replied.

"Why? Have you seen her?" he asked a little too desperately.

"I've...bumped into her a few times," she explained rather hesitantly. This did not go unnoticed by Troy.

"Mum...what's going on? Is she okay?"

Lucy wondered how she could answer that. She'd made a promise not to tell Troy what she knew – a promise she had kept because she'd not wanted to add to his worries while he was away. But now that he was _home_, she was at a loss as to what to do.

But perhaps her next words alone would be enough to spring Troy into action. And if she had to say more to him later, she would.

"I think you need to ask her that question yourself."

_**.HSM.**_

Troy was waiting alone in the room for friends and relatives, trying to keep calm.

Not only was he anxious about the procedure his mum was currently undergoing; he was also deeply confused.

Something was going on with Gabriella. Something that he would bet all of his friends knew about, but hadn't bothered to tell him. Something else had happened beyond their break-up, and even his mother knew what it was.

He couldn't bear the idea that something was wrong. But he couldn't do anything about it.

His mum had made it obvious that she thought he should talk to Gabi. But maybe doing that would just cause her more upset on top of whatever she was dealing with?

He couldn't see himself being any help to her after the huge mistake he'd made.

Sighing, Troy stood up to wander around the room for a bit. He'd been waiting for a good half an hour so far – he had no clue what to expect with the outcome of his mum's medical investigation. That thought really scared him.

Just as he was about to circle his way around the family room once again, he heard footsteps approaching, and then coming to a slow stop. Either they signalled the arrival of another person who was awaiting a loved one's fate; or they belonged to the doctor who would come bearing news.

Except that he knew it certainly _wasn't_ a doctor before he even had the chance to turn around.

Because into the silence, a small female voice piped up. And Troy's heart twinged at the two familiar words she spoke.

"Hey, slacker..."

**Please Review!**

**I appreciate each and every one of your comments :)**

**Thank you**


	20. Face To Face

**Hey guys! So here is chapter twenty...There is only one more chapter left after this one. I've grown so attached to this story – I've loved writing the banter as well as the serious storyline. **

**Speaking of army themed stories, you should all check out the fantastic oneshot **One Night **by **AngKeats**. It's brilliant! Also there is **Little Mummy **by **Bluebell140, **which I need to start reviewing!** **:)**

**Anyway, read on and enjoy...**

"_Hey, Slacker..."_

Her voice was calm, and Troy was surprised at the hint of humour that came across in her greeting to him. It threw him completely.

Gabriella was _here_, and she was giving him an opportunity to banter with her rather than just offer an awkward hello.

An opportunity he would usually have taken straight away. Only this time, he didn't feel like playing the joker. His current situation was far too serious for that.

He turned around, his eyes flicking over her features She looked as beautiful as the last time he had seen her – there were only two changes. One was the sleek dark bob that her hair had been styled into; the other was the look in her eyes and the expression on her face. She looked exhausted; like she was plagued with worry.

It made her choice of greeting all the more unexpected to him.

Then he remembered that, stunned by the sight of her, he had still not given her a response.

"Gabi," he breathed out softly. An overwhelming longing was coming over him to wrap his arms around her and rid her of whatever she was going through.

The fact that she was at the hospital had already narrowed down the possibilities of what that something was.

"What are you...what are you doing here?" he blurted out, knowing he wasn't owed an answer, but hoping he'd get one anyway.

But it seemed Gabi wasn't ready, or willing, to tell him that yet. Instead, she reflected the question back at him.

"Is it your mum?" she asked cautiously.

The tiny shred of selfish hope that she had actually come here for that very reason had now been banished from Troy's mind. She didn't _know_ what had happened to Lucy, otherwise she wouldn't have asked him.

He nodded wordlessly, and then gathered he didn't have to tell her what was wrong with his mum – the look on her face showed that she knew what it must be.

Just as he thought she was about to say more on the subject, Troy watched as Gabi stole a glance at her watch and her face changed.

"I have to go. It's my grandad, he's...it's visiting hours, I have to go and see him. Give my love to your mum," she said hurriedly. Her tone was desperate in that moment; but then there was an added warmth to her voice when she spoke of Lucy.

Before Troy could ask after her grandfather, or even nod at her request, she had fled again.

He ached to run after her, but felt certain that wasn't what _she_ wanted right now. Besides, the time was still ticking by without any word from his mother's doctor.

The longer things took, the more anxious he got. What would they find, and would they really be able to fix it?

It looked like he was about to find out when, ten minutes after Gabriella's hasty exit, Dr Long entered the room.

"Your mother has just been taken over to recovery. If you'd like to follow me, and I'll explain the results to both of you together," he explained in the kind manner of which Troy had now become used to.

He let the doctor lead him away, eager to see his mum despite the fact that his head was now in a total mess in the aftermath of Gabriella's sudden appearance.

_**.HSM.**_

She collapsed in the seat of her car feeling too numb even to cry yet. It was a good job she wasn't about to drive home – she could barely lift her arms, her whole body was completely weak. She had simply come here for a moment alone; for some time to comprehend the events of the last few hours.

Gabi, her mother and the rest of the family had left her grandfather's hospital room for a while in order to give her nan some time alone with him.

She could have followed the others to the canteen, but had needed some air. So she had told everyone she would join them again in a bit.

No-one was planning on leaving the hospital tonight – a testament to just how devastating the circumstances were.

They had all just been told that Harry, her grandad, only had a few days left at the most.

He had been battling bone cancer for the past year. Surgery had been out of the question, leaving treatment to be the only hope. But it had only succeeded in prolonging his life for a short time.

In the past few weeks, he had deteriorated far more rapidly than anyone had expected. He'd been taken to hospital the previous week, and now, today; he'd been moved to another room.

One that meant the whole family could be with him for as long as they wanted. Visiting hours were now irrelevant. Time, however, was more precious than ever.

That was the thought that made Gabriella come out of her trance, and she dragged herself out of the car, running all the way back into the building.

As she made her way to the hospital canteen, she desperately wished she had someone with her, holding her hand and giving her some much-needed strength.

She wished she still had Troy.

There had been no one else in her life in the past twelve months; even now, no other man came close to how he had made her feel.

It had been an almighty shock for her to come across him earlier on. Yes, her greeting had been calm, jokey; but it was a cover. She couldn't let him see how he still affected her.

The only thing that had halted the awkwardness was hearing the news that Troy's mum had been taken ill again. Gabi had only seen Lucy herself a month before – although by chance – and she had seemed okay.

Her heart ached in sadness for the woman, and for Troy too. But she couldn't be there for him anymore; just as he couldn't do the same for her. Too much time had passed. Which was why she'd stopped short of telling him about her grandad's illness.

Stopping at the door, she paused only long enough to take a deep breath. But it did little to soothe her as she resumed walking and made it over to where her family was sitting.

It was time to pull herself together.

_**.HSM.**_

"Troy! How's your mum? What's the verdict?" came Chad's urgent voice over the phone.

"She's been diagnosed with coronary heart disease," he replied, having only heard this from the doctor a short while ago.

The line was silent as Chad took this information in. Troy decided to get everything out in one go. "She's going to have a bypass operation, in a couple of days. At least she won't have to wait too long."

Troy was still stunned at the news, even though he should have expected something like it. On the phone, he may have sounded calm and collected. But inside he was terrified that his mother was to undergo such a big operation.

"Wow, mate. I don't know what to say," his best friend finally responded. "Do you want Taylor and I to come down to the hospital? It won't take us long."

"Thanks, Chad, but I'm just about to head back to mum's for the night. She's resting, says she's fine; so I've been ordered to go home and get some sleep," Troy explained. It was a comfort to him that Lucy had still been able to fuss over him, even after the day she'd had.

"Alright, well you know where we are if you need us," Chad promised.

Troy couldn't help but smile at his supportive friends. He hadn't seen them in a year, but he knew they'd have dropped everything for him that second if he'd asked them to do so.

Chad and Taylor were now happily engaged; something which Troy had found both brilliant and difficult to deal with at the same time. He was over it now, but when he'd first heard the news it had been a painful reminder that he and Gabriella could well have been at that stage themselves by now.

Still, he'd moved past those mixed feelings, and was now one hundred per cent pleased for his friends. As well as getting engaged, the couple had also each found new jobs since Troy had left England.

Taylor was working in the administration department of an office, which sounded particularly boring to everyone else – but not to _her_. It suited her perfectly, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.

Chad, on the other hand, had re-discovered his love of cars in a way that extended beyond watching Top Gear. He'd secured a job at a garage with on the job training, and was loving every minute of it.

As Troy ended the call to his friend, he suddenly remembered that he could have asked Chad about Gabi's grandfather. Sighing, he shook his head and told himself it could wait.

Right now, he needed to go and rest so that he could support his mum in the next coming days.

He longed to be going home with Gabi, though. He just wanted her with him. But although he needed her now more than ever; he didn't know if _she_ needed _him_ anymore.

And that was the only thing stopping him from going to her.

**So, one last chapter left! **

**Please Review :)**

**Thank you**


	21. The Advisers

**So I said that this next chapter would be the last one...but I got a bit carried away and wrote about a million pages (at least it felt like it!) and therefore I have split it in half for you. Thank you to all my reviewers, old and new, for some truly lovely comments :)**

**Here is chapter twenty-one, enjoy...**

"Why didn't anyone tell me about Gabi?" Troy asked of his friends as they all sat together in his mother's living room. They had just given him the full story about her grandfather's illness.

It was the evening before Lucy's operation, and he had been at the hospital all day. This was the first time he'd had a chance to see Chad, Taylor and Sharpay since he'd arrived back in the country.

It was Sharpay who spoke first. "Oh, believe me, _I_ certainly wanted to. I thought maybe if you found out what was going on, you'd realise what a moron you've been and see that you needed to be with Gabi."

Troy wanted to stress to her that he _had _realised he was a 'moron' before he'd even got to Canada. But there was no point in dwelling on that; he just had to know the facts now.

"So why didn't you do that, then?" he wondered, genuinely surprised that the blonde hadn't blurted out the truth down the phone the moment she had the chance.

Taylor was the one who answered him next. "Because Gabriella wouldn't have it. She didn't say why; she just insisted that we told you nothing."

Troy could understand that. After the way things had ended due to his own stupidity, she had every right to exclude him from all knowledge of her life.

He just wished he hadn't caused that to happen.

"Sooo..." Sharpay broke the tense silence with her expectant noise.

"So...what?" Troy asked, waiting for his friend to tell him exactly what she thought - as only the blonde, nosey Sharpay could.

"So what are you gonna do now that you _do_ know everything?"

"What, you think it would be appropriate for me to rush back into Gabi's life, just like that? You've all just told me her grandad is _dying_...I can't just..." Troy struggled with what he was trying to explain.

"Can't just what?" Taylor cut in gently. "Go and support her like we all know you want to?"

He sighed in defeat. They could all see through him.

"Okay, fine. That _is_ what I want to do. But what if that's not what Gabi wants?"

"You don't think she's still in love with you?" Sharpay asked in a tone that told him she knew otherwise.

He didn't miss the hint, but he had another point to make. "You've just made it clear that she didn't want me knowing what she was going through. I don't think I have a place in her life anymore."

"Troy," said Taylor as she reached over to put a hand on his arm. "To me - although she wouldn't give a reason – it was obvious why Gabi said that."

He didn't answer; just waited for her theory.

"Well, think about it. You broke things off with her by telling her you didn't think your relationship was strong enough – something which, by the way, I still can't fathom out..."

Troy glanced over at Chad, open-mouthed. He'd been sure that by now, his mate would have spilled his secret to the woman he was about to marry. But apparently, he hadn't.

Taylor had missed his brief look of surprise, however, and was still talking. "...So why would she want you knowing about her grandad? Gabi knows you never stopped caring, Troy. But maybe she doesn't realise that you still love her. She might think you were just showing her pity if you found out what was going on."

"_Pity_? But you just told me I _should _go and be with her now that you've told me everything." Troy was now more than a bit confused.

Finally, Sharpay intervened. "What Tay's trying to say is that _yes_, you should go to her, but tell her exactly how you feel. Tell her you're there because you're still crazy about her. She needs to know you're not just there because you feel bad."

"It's just...terrible timing to do this now. I don't want to mess with her head," he replied.

"Now is the _perfect_ time, Troy," Sharpay insisted. "Your mum's fighting a heart condition, and Gabi's about to lose one of the most important people in her life. You've wasted a year being apart. Don't waste anymore time; life is too fragile."

This was deep coming from Shar. He knew she was right; but he didn't know if he dared hope that Gabriella would give him the second chance he so desperately wanted.

_**.HSM.**_

Once again, Troy found himself playing the waiting game at the hospital. He'd been told that his mother could be in surgery for hours – but that this wasn't necessarily a bad sign.

Lucy had told him herself that she did _not_ want him pacing the floors in a panicked state. And if he stayed in the family room, that was exactly what he would end up doing. It had barely been half an hour since she'd been taken down to theatre; so he had a feeling there was a long wait ahead.

He got up from his seat and made his way out of the room slowly. His mind had wandered to thoughts of the woman he needed to make things right with. The woman he needed back in his life.

He took himself in the direction of where he guessed she might be, if she were even _in_ the hospital at this moment.

Before he knew it, Troy was standing on a completely different floor, faced with a collection of private rooms.

There was a name written on the front of each door, alerting visitors to the occupant of the hospital room. As he looked around, his eyes fell on a familiar name that he knew belonged to Gabriella's grandfather.

Suddenly he felt like a massive intruder. Who was he to invade Harry's precious time with his loved ones? Why did he ever let his friends persuade him that coming here was in any way appropriate?

With that last thought in mind, Troy turned to leave. But as his eyes left the sign stating Harry's name, they suddenly came into focus again as he noticed the clear window to the left of the door. Why hadn't he seen that before?

Peering inside, he knew even from a short distance that the figure in the bed was Gabi's grandad. He moved closer, watching over the older man who looked so frail and ill compared with the last time he'd seen him.

He'd appeared to be asleep, but now he opened his eyes and moved his head in the direction of the window. He had spotted the young, awkward looking man standing outside his room. And now Troy knew he had to go inside.

"Troy," Harry's voice was raspy as his visitor stepped into the hospital room. Troy couldn't tell whether the man was pleased to see him or not.

"Hello, Harry," he replied softly, trying to hold back on his emotions. He had only met this man once before. But it had meant a lot to him, being welcomed so warmly by Gabi's family.

Seeing a member of that family looking so fragile gave him an ache in his heart.

"What are you...doing here?" the older man asked, clearly finding it an effort to speak for too long.

"It's my mum...she's having an operation on her heart," Troy explained.

"I'm sorry...to hear that," again, the response was slow and raspy, but sincere. "But, why did you come...?"

He didn't need to continue. Troy knew he must be wondering why he had suddenly turned up _here_, after all this time, seemingly to see _him_.

"I...I came because of Gabi," he answered honestly. He hadn't been naïve enough to think he could just waltz in and patch things up easily. The aim for right now had been for him to try and _be there_ for her.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to focus intently on the man his granddaughter was still so taken with. "You broke it off with her, before you left?"

It seemed he wanted to get to the bottom of things straight away, and the question caught Troy by surprise.

He knew that the man didn't need the fact confirmed. It was a statement, and he took it as a reminder about what he had done. So he nodded, forcing himself not to look at the floor in shame.

"I was a coward," he admitted. "I was scared; that's the only reason I left things the way I did."

"Scared...of what?" was the question he got back.

"Of ending up like my parents. I thought I was saving Gabi from going through the same pain," Troy explained.

The knowing look that crossed over Harry's face was enough to tell him that he understood the issue without any further elaboration. Perhaps Gabriella had told her family _everything_. Or maybe it was just overwhelmingly obvious anyway.

"And...did it work?"

Troy closed his eyes, feeling a stab of pain even just thinking about the past year. "No. I messed everything up," he replied. "I made a huge mistake."

There was a long moment of silence; contemplation over the statement that hung painfully in the air.

He wasn't sure what to say or do next. And then, suddenly, Harry spoke again; this time managing a full sentence without stopping.

"Do you love my granddaughter, Troy?"

He looked up, stunned at the words but not in the least bit hesitant. "Yes, very much. I've been completely lost without her."

"Then...you need to tell her that, son," the older man replied firmly.

Troy was hit with so many emotions as he took in that advice.

Firstly, no-one had ever called him 'son' before. The word almost moved him to tears. In the last few days he had cried so much that he would never have lived it down if his army mates could've seen him. But _they_ didn't know how long he had been keeping those tears in for.

The most important thing about what he had just heard, though, was that Gabi's grandfather still appeared to have faith in him. The same kind of faith he himself should have had in the first place.

"What if I'm too late?" he worried.

"Looks like...it's time to ask her that question, yourself," Harry told him, his head gesturing towards the door.

And then Troy turned around, meeting her bewildered gaze.

_**.HSM.**_

Gabriella knew the rest of her family had gone to get a quick bite to eat; and that she would be alone with her grandad for a short time until they came back up to his room.

So what she didn't expect as she neared the hospital room was to hear another voice talking to her grandfather. One that didn't sound like the doctor's.

"_I made a huge mistake..."_

When she realised that she recognised the person speaking, she stopped behind the door, keeping herself hidden, and listened. The next thing she heard was the voice of her grandad.

"_Do you love my granddaughter, Troy?"_

Hearing that almost floored her; let alone the fact that it confirmed the identity of the visitor in her grandfather's room. It hadn't quite seemed real until she'd heard his name.

She hardly dared let out a breath as she awaited Troy's answer, still not ready to reveal her presence outside the room.

"_Yes, very much. I've been completely lost without her."_

Gabi didn't hear the rest of the exchange after that. Her head was filled with thoughts about how lost she'd been herself.

She didn't doubt that he meant what he said. But it wasn't that simple after all this time. Was it?

As her grandad caught sight of her in the doorway and acknowledged her arrival to Troy, Gabi realised she had been edging further and further into the room.

Now she froze again, watching as Troy turned around to face her.

"Gabriella..."

She couldn't remember the last time he had called her by her full name; even while they were together. It sounded so foreign.

"What...what are you doing here?" was all she could say, even though she had already heard the answer. But she needed to hear it again, said straight to her face.

She saw Troy take a deep breath before giving her his answer. "I came to see you."

"Why?" Gabi wanted much more than the simple sentences he was so far offering. She wasn't going to tell him how _she_ felt until she'd heard everything he had to say.

She needed to know if that fear that had controlled him was finally gone.

**I know it's been left at a bit of a cliffhanger, but don't worry guys, the final chapter has already been written, minus a few tweaks. So I won't make you wait too long, promise! **

**Please Review – thank you SO much :)**


	22. I Love You, You Idiot

**So, here we are on the last chapter of this story. This has been my favourite one to write, and not just because of all the reviews! I feel like it's evolved so much from that first chapter where Troy and Gabi were just stacking shelves together :) Thank you so much for all your lovely comments guys! Enjoy...**

_She saw Troy take a deep breath before giving her his answer._ _"I came to see you."_

"_Why?" Gabi wanted much more than the simple sentences he was so far offering. She wasn't going to tell him how she felt until she'd heard everything he had to say._

_She needed to know if that fear that had controlled him was finally gone..._

Harry cut in before Troy could respond. "Why don't you two...go for a walk," he suggested with a small smile for the both of them.

Troy sent the man a grateful smile back, just as Gabi agreed to the walk with a nod of her head. Then she looked to her grandfather again, worry clouding her face for more than one reason.

"It's okay," Harry assured her. "Your nan will be back soon. I want you to go, and...listen to what that young man has to say."

She nodded and placed a kiss on his cheek, and he squeezed her hand back. Then she turned to leave the room, thinking that Troy would be following behind her.

But instead he had moved mysteriously closer to the bed and seemed to be speaking again, only far too quietly for Gabi to hear this time. It seemed obvious to her now that the older man had given Troy some words of wisdom.

She didn't have time to think about going back inside to find out for certain, because suddenly he had left the room and was standing next to her. She looked at him for a long moment; then decided against saying anything on the matter.

They began a slow walk together, and her concern about leaving her grandad alone soon disappeared when they passed her nan and mother making their way back to his room.

They both smiled when they saw Troy. It seemed everyone wanted to see them back together. Gabi wanted it, too; but she had yet to let go of the past.

They came to a stop as they exited the hospital doors, finding a bench to sit on.

"How's your mum doing?" she blurted out, startling him. She was suddenly nervous; but equally as concerned about Lucy, prompting her randomly timed question.

"She'll...she'll be fine," Troy answered. Gabi put his hesitant reply down to surprise – she had no reason to think that he wasn't telling her the whole story. She simply nodded, causing another silence until he finally summoned up the courage to break it.

"I don't know how to say this..." he started, then took in another breath. "Gabi, that day, when I ended things between us...that day is the biggest regret of my life. All I can tell you is that I was...I was _scared_."

"I told you that before you left," she pointed out, avoiding his gaze. She kept her tone even, determined not to become emotional – though she knew it was bound to happen eventually. Because it still hurt to think of that day, even now.

"I know," he replied. In the next moment, he had taken both of her hands into his, causing her to look up at him. "I regretted _everything_ I'd said and done the second I got on that plane to Canada."

Gabi looked down again, but didn't pull away from him. "If that's true, then why didn't you call me?"

"I knew it was too late. I'd done too much damage to just phone you up with a 'sorry'. Before I left I...I almost went to your flat to see you. I sat in the car, parked on your street...but even though I missed you so much already, it just hadn't dawned on me yet."

"_What_ hadn't?" she asked.

"How much of a mistake I was making," he admitted, looking away from her himself now.

Gabi sighed at her own memory. "I gave up too, you know. Sharpay and the others wanted me to do something, but _I_ knew it was too late by then, too. I knew that fear had taken over for you."

"You're right. It had," Troy agreed in a quiet voice. "I deluded myself into thinking I was protecting you from pain as well, though."

Her eyes softened at this, but then she considered how badly that idea had backfired.

"Well it didn't work," she retorted drily, telling him something he'd already confessed to her grandfather today. "We're not like your parents, Troy. Yes, it would have been hard doing the long distance thing. But...would it have been any harder than how the last year turned out?"

She couldn't deny the pain she saw in his eyes then. "I think being without you has been so much worse. Not being able to talk to you...tell you how I felt..." he answered. "I should have seen how strong we were."

Gabi believed in what he was telling her. She just wished she could have heard it a year ago. "You didn't think we were worth fighting for. I _did_. I always did. The fact that you couldn't see it...that really hurt me."

Troy didn't speak, but raised his head to look at her; to listen.

"I...I've really needed you over the past few months. Even being able to talk over the _phone_ would have been enough for me."

"I had no idea you were going through all this," he gestured sadly. "I'm so sorry."

She stood up then, turning her back to him, eyes closed. "I didn't want you to come back and find me just because of _this_; just because I'm about to lose my..." she couldn't finish the sentence as she looked up at the building, where she knew her grandad was growing weaker. "I wanted you to get over your fear...I wanted to know you were with me because you believed in _us_."

She was beginning to let the inevitable tears get the better of her already. But she'd needed to say that. It was important that he had come to her for the right reasons.

Troy stood up and went to her, just like he should have done the last time, when she'd had to walk away from him.

"That _is_ why I'm here, Gabi. I'm here because I _love_ you. I never stopped loving you," he told her, their eyes locked only on each other now. "I'm so sorry I ever doubted that was enough to make it last."

"You said we weren't worth ruining our lives for..." she couldn't help but fixate on his year-old statement as anguished, pent up tears spilled down her cheeks.

He reached up to wipe them away with ease, clearly wishing he could take back every hurtful thing he'd ever told her. "I was wrong. What happened with my mum and dad..._that _wasn't worth ruining our lives over."

She finally managed a small nod in acceptance of his declaration. But he wasn't finished yet.

"I've been a massive idiot, and I know that. But I also know my feelings haven't changed - _I love you_. The only question now is...do you still love _me_?"

There was only a brief pause as she took that all in. But just as Gabriella was about to give him an answer, she was distracted by a large woman with a kind face who was bustling over to them, making a beeline for Troy.

"Excuse me," she called out. "It's Troy Bolton, isn't it?"

Troy looked at her in surprise, which soon turned to worry as he recognised who she was. It was the receptionist he had asked for directions this morning. "Yes, that's me," he replied quickly.

"There's been a call down at reception asking about you; your mother is Lucy Bolton?" At his nod, the woman continued. "Your mother is out of surgery now. The doctor couldn't find you to tell you. I don't usually do this but I thought I remembered you from this morning, so when I spotted you...well, duty calls!"

"Thank you!" Troy called out as he stood up and prepared to race up to be by his mum's side. He was stunned that the operation was already over.

"Your mum was having surgery today?" Gabi exclaimed, their previous moment temporarily forgotten. "Why didn't you _say_ anything?" She quickened her pace, rushing with him as he took off back inside the hospital.

"You've had enough to deal with yourself here. I was told mum might be in theatre for several hours. Plus, she told me not to sit around waiting anxiously, which is how I ended up finding your grandad's room while looking for you."

For the second time that day, Gabi decided to leave it at that, and as they got to the correct floor they were led to the recovery ward by a nurse.

Lucy was awake, but drowsy from the anaesthetic. But when she spotted her son heading towards her, accompanied by Gabi, she cracked a smile.

"Mum?" he appeared by her side in a flash, and in no time at all Dr Long was there too.

"Everything was a total success," he announced with a grin, before explaining all the other necessary information Troy needed to hear. It seemed the operation had been relatively simple to perform, considering it's severity. His mother was going to be in hospital recovering for a few more days.

When the doctor had finished he left just as quickly as he had appeared, and now it was just the three of them again.

"Hi, Lucy," Gabi began with a warm smile.

"How are you, my dear?" the older woman asked groggily.

"I'm...doing okay," she replied. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy nodded as an answer, closing her eyes as if to show relief, then opening them again. "So...are you two back together, then?" she asked slowly.

Troy was a bit shocked at her question, but Gabi caught him by surprise as she let out a soft giggle. Then, after barely a minute of contemplation, she looked at Troy and took his hand, squeezing it. "Yes, we are," she stated with a smile.

It was her way of answering his crucial question from just minutes before. And she meant it, knowing now that he would never leave her like that again.

He turned to her and smiled tenderly, so thankful that she was by his side again. Just like he would be by hers from now on.

_**.HSM.**_

It hadn't taken long for Lucy to fall asleep; and after being reassured that she really was absolutely fine, Troy and Gabi left the ward to let her rest quietly.

He took her back to her grandfather's hospital room, their hands laced together now as though they had never been apart. Troy knew she was anxious about the days to come, and now it was his turn to be there for her.

The hospital staff had said it had surprised them that Harry had made it to the end of the week, with them having initially informed everyone to prepare for the worst within days. But any hope that this development had given Gabi and her family was soon dashed again as the doctors gently reminded them that they still couldn't do anything more to help him.

So all they could do was make him comfortable; as his family made things seem as normal as possible for him for as long as he was still with them.

As they peered inside the room, she sighed in what she knew would only be short-term relief as she saw that Harry was still awake, talking to her mother. Her nan was sitting on the other side of his bed, clutching her husband's hand.

As Troy and Gabi walked inside, the whole room was smiling at them. It seemed they didn't need to announce the news of their reunion again.

Although they both smiled back, Gabi's tears were threatening to fall again as she looked over and saw for the hundredth time how frail her grandad really was.

"Don't...don't cry, sweetheart," Harry's voice rang out in the silent room. "I want you to be...happy now. Troy, look after my only granddaughter for me, you hear?" The request was serious, yet not without some humour in the tone.

If that was supposed to stop her from crying, it hadn't worked. But she appreciated the sentiment more than she could ever say.

"You have my word that I will, sir," Troy answered, now struggling not to cry himself.

"No...sir. Just, Harry," was his reminder, making everyone smile again.

The older man didn't say anything else for the day; he felt he had said more than enough, especially to the young couple. It wasn't long before he fell asleep for the night, with everyone planning to stay in the hospital with him again.

Troy wasn't planning on leaving tonight either. He intended to go and check on his mum again later, and then return here to be with Gabi and her family.

As they left Harry's hospital room for a bit to let him rest, the two were able to finish the conversation they'd started on the bench outside earlier.

"Troy...you remember what you asked me earlier, outside?" she suddenly blurted out, feeling impulsive and spurred on by her grandad's advice to her tonight.

"Yeah?"

"Well the answer is yes. _Of course_ I still love you, you idiot..."

Rolling his eyes at the mild insult she had echoed from his own words, he smiled and pulled her close to him. "I love you too," he told her, running his hand through her hair. "_So_ much..."

"So are you gonna kiss me then Bolton, or what?" she replied playfully.

He smirked back at her. "I might do, Montez..."

And then he really did kiss her. It was long-awaited; loving, tender. But it was also filled with comfort, something that right now, they both needed from each other alongside the jokes and banter that had also been sorely missed.

It was in this moment that Troy realised he'd learnt the most profound lesson of all, right here in this hospital. Life really _was_ fragile; and he couldn't waste another second of it.

Gabi's voice interrupted his thoughts as she pulled away from their kiss. "We've still got so much to sort out!" she exclaimed in realisation. "I mean, don't you have to go back to Canada? And I can't come with you right now, I have to stay here with my fam..."

Troy cut her off calmly, keeping hold of her hand. "Gabi, it's okay. We'll talk everything over later, but right now it doesn't matter. I don't know what's going to happen yet, but what I do know is that I'm never going to push you away again. We _will_ be together, I promise you."

She allowed his words to soothe and calm her. It was what she needed to hear right now with all that was going on around them. She hoped that now she could be brave enough to get through this next hurdle in her life, knowing that he would always be in it too.

"...Even if I have to go AWOL," Troy added jokingly.

"Don't say that!" she tutted, despite managing to laugh as she poked him in the side.

"Hey, don't do that, I'm very delicate!" he protested dramatically, getting another smile out of her.

"Come on, let's go back inside," he added, leading her back from where they came, but not before placing another soft kiss on her lips. He wanted to leave her in no doubt that he would never let her down again.

He'd decided a long while back that if he ever got lucky enough to have Gabi back in his life, he wouldn't leave it too long before making the biggest commitment he could to her.

Which was why he'd already spoken to her grandfather about a very important question he intended to ask her one day soon.

And it _definitely_ wouldn't involve any more absences.

**Well, I can't believe that's it for this story now! I really hope I was able to do it justice for you with this ending. I know it had a mixture of emotions in it! Please do leave me a Review, even if you've only just found this story. I appreciate every piece of feedback I get. **

**Thanks again for reading :)**

**Miss Romance-Lover**

**x**


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